Refrigerator Eyed as 'Possible' Origin of Oakland Warehouse Fire, Official Says
The fire killed more than 30 people after it broke out Friday night.
— -- A refrigerator is being eyed as the "possible" point of origin in an Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people Friday night, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News.
Investigators are working to determine if there was criminal liability for the horrific blaze and, if so, who was responsible, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.
On Tuesday night, the county coroner's bureau released the names of nine more victims in the blaze and city officials declared a local state of emergency to facilitate state and federal aid.
The victims identified on Tuesday range in age from 21 to 35 and mostly came from the Bay Area. One victim's hometown is listed as Helsinki, Finland.
So far, 35 of the 36 victims have been identified and 30 families have been notified. A 17-year-old's name will not be released.
City officials also released records on the building's reported complaints on Tuesday.
The most recent city record on the property dates from just days before the deadly fire. The November 14 notice shows an "investigation pending" for "illegal interior building structure," an apparent reference to the illegal living spaces constructed inside the warehouse.
Days prior to that, the building's owner was notified of a code violation. The records say "a ton of garbage [is] piling up on the property," including "hazardous" trash.
Firefighters have searched about 90 percent of the building, according to Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Darin White. They will begin to take down the upper portions of the walls above the roof line, knocking those walls into areas of the building that have been declared safe and clear of bodies by searchers and cadaver dogs, said Oakland Fire Department Operations Chief Mark Hoffman. These are not areas where the fire is believed to have originated, Hoffman said.
An electrical fire broke out Friday night at the warehouse, nicknamed the Ghost Ship, during a concert party with as many as 100 people in attendance, authorities said.
Oakland Mourns Victims of Warehouse Fire
Darin Ranelletti, the interim director of the city's planning and building department, told the press that the party required a permit, which he said was not obtained.
Survivors of the inferno recalled waking up to a "wall of fire" and billowing smoke so powerful that it opened a window, letting in oxygen that apparently intensified the blaze.
Some victims texted messages to relatives such as "I'm going to die" and "I love you," according to Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly.
The warehouse is under investigation to determine whether it was used to house people illegally, Ranelletti said.
The Ghost Ship is purportedly run by a married couple, Derick Ion Almena and Micah Allison, but the building is owned by Chor Nar Siu Ng, a woman who appeared to have little involvement with its use for artists' studios and as a performance space for musicians.
"They're my children. They're my friends. They're my family. They're my loves. They're my future. What else do I have to say?" Almena told ABC San Francisco station KGO.
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